Curriculum, Technology, and Learner Autonomy
We all have heard how important it is for learners nowadays to develop critical thinking and problem-solving skills, to think creatively and work creatively with others, to communicate clearly, and to communicate with others. Those are some of the 21st Century Skills that “separate students who are prepared for increasingly complex life and work environments in the 21st century, and those who are not” (“Framework for 21st century learning,” n.d.). In order to help students coping with such huge challenges, there must be a huge change in the way in which students learn, which implies fundamental changes in the curriculum. A curriculum is made of three elements that are interconnected among them: skills, content, and assessment (Hayes Jacobs, 2010). Therefore, if students need to develop skills ''that suit the demands of the 21st century, the ''content and the assessment ''need to evolve, as well. The UNESCO states that “technology can facilitate universal access to education, bridge learning divides, support the development of teachers, enhance the quality and relevance of learning, strengthen inclusion, and improve education administration and governance” (“ICT in education,” n.d.). That is why schools need to articulate their curriculum and technology. However, this articulation needs to be properly understood. It is not about having the most advanced computers, software, or technology devices. It is about integrating what the schools have at hand in the improvement of the teaching practices (Hayes Jacobs, 2010). As stated by Zhao, cited by Keengwe (2013, p. 610), “The effectiveness of technology-supported language curricula depends more on teachers’ creative use of technology than on the technology itself”. That is why, Information, Media, and Technology skills are a key component of the 21st Century Skills, since thanks to them, students are being prepared “to create, evaluate, and effectively utilize information, media, and technology” (“Framework for 21st century learning,” n.d.) in their future academic and professional contexts. This implies a crucial update in the contents of the curriculum, as well. Some of the contents, due to the incorporation of technology, and the pursue of the development of the 21st Century Skills, need to be modified, eliminated, or incorporated to the curriculum (Hayes Jacobs, 2010). In order to do so, teachers need to collaboratively determine the interdisciplinary contents that are essential and timeless, and those that are not essential or dated (Hayes Jacobs, 2010). At the end of the story, the articulation between curriculum and technology to enhance the development of the 21st Century Skills has an intrinsic purpose: the development of autonomy understood as the “students' capacity to use their learning independently of teachers” (Cotterall, 2000, p. 109). Having a solid curriculum in which technology plays an important role in the development of skills, the learning of content, and the assessment of the teaching and learning practices, guarantees that learners are able to use such skills and learning in other contexts independently, in an autonomous manner. All in all, the development of the 21st Century Skills implies a huge restructuration of the educational system. It involves a change in the teachers’ mindset, and the reorganization of the curriculum, so that it supports autonomy, and the development of the skills learners will require in their future academic and professional contexts. References: Cotterall, S. (2000). Promoting learner autonomy through the curriculum: principles for designing language courses. ''ELT Journal, 54(2), 109–117. Framework for 21st century learning. (n.d.). . Retrieved May 21, 2018, from http://www.p21.org/our-work/p21-framework Hayes Jacobs, H. (Ed.) (2010). Curriculum 21: Essential education for a changing world. Alexandria, VA: ASCD. ICT in education. (n.d.). . Retrieved May 28, 2018, from https://en.unesco.org/themes/ict-education Keengwe, J., & Kang, J. J. (2013). Preparing in-service language teachers to design and implement technology-rich curriculum. Education and Information Technologies, 18(4), 609–619. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10639-012-9195-y Autonomy image. Retrieved from https://pixabay.com/en/autonomy-hand-keep-finger-fragile-298476/